Embryonic expression patterns of panarthropod Teneurin-m/odd Oz genes suggest a possible function in segmentation

Background A hallmark of arthropods is their segmented body, and the so-called Drosophila segmentation gene cascade that controls this process serves as one of the best-studied gene regulatory networks. An important group of segmentation genes is represented by the pair-rule genes (PRGs). One of these genes was thought to be the type-II transmembrane protein encoding gene Tenascin-m ( Ten-m (aka odd Oz )). Ten-m , however, does not have a pair-rule function in Drosophila , despite its characteristic PRG-like expression pattern. A recent study in the beetle Tribolium castaneum showed that its Ten-m gene is not expressed like a segmentation gene, and hence is very unlikely to have a function in segmentation. Results In this study, I present data from a range of arthropods covering the arthropod tree of life, and an onychophoran, representing a closely related group of segmented animals. At least one ortholog of Ten-m/odz in each of these species is expressed in the form of transverse segmental stripes in the ectoderm of forming and newly formed segments – a characteristic of genes involved in segmentation. Conclusions The new expression data support the idea that Ten-m orthologs after all may be involved in panarthropod segmentation.